Dental Work Using Anesthesia during Pregnancy

Sep 2, 2014

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Is it possible to treat teeth with anesthesia and what other rules of dental work during pregnancy are there?

Expectant mothers regularly visit their gynecologist, but often delay the visit to the dentist until better times. It is not right because a favorable outcome of pregnancy and baby health largely depends on the condition of the teeth. Tooth decay and gum diseases are not as harmless for the mother and the baby as it may seem at first glance.

Teeth affected by caries are a hearth for bacteria to grow. They penetrate loosely from the mouth into the stomach and the intestines. It results in reduced immunity, abdominal diseases, heart and blood vessels problems. The baby’s development, the formation of its organs and systems is also endangered.

Ideally, it is necessary to treat teeth before pregnancy. At the beginning of the first trimester, experts advise expectant mothers to go to the dentist for a professional cleaning. Teeth are treated with ultrasound, then polished with a special paste and covered with a protective varnish. The risk of dental caries after such treatments is significantly reduced.

Routine dental check-ups

Even if you have treated your teeth before conception, it does not mean that now you can safely bypass the doctor’s office. Do not forget that the developing baby takes the mother’s entire body calcium. If its stocks are exhausted before the baby is born, you can expect serious dental problems.

Dentistry using anesthesia during pregnancy

Gums also get vulnerable. Hormonal changes that occur during all nine months of pregnancy worsen the blood supply of the mucous membrane. Therefore, expectant mothers complain of gum disease – gingivitis – so often. The first symptoms – itching, swelling, and bleeding – usually appear in the second half of the first trimester. To keep the situation under control, stick to the standard terms of dental checkups. Pay your first visit to the dentist at 6-8 weeks of pregnancy, the second – at 16-18 weeks, the third – at 26-28 weeks, and the fourth one – at 36-38 weeks.

Paracetamol during pregnancy

Of course, pregnancy is not a good time to treat teeth thoroughly. Now, when you are getting ready to become a mother, you are unlikely solve the problem completely. However, you can slow down the destructive processes for a while.

The most favorable time for medical intervention is the second trimester. By this time, all the major organs of the future baby have been formed, and the risk is minimal. However, all dental procedures are highly undesirable in the first and third trimesters! In the early period of pregnancy, medications can adversely affect fetal development, and at the end of the pregnancy, treatment can cause premature labor.

Anesthesia and other rules

Dental care for expectant mothers has its own peculiarities. Be sure to ask your doctor what painkiller he or she is going to use. There is a special anesthesia for pregnant women. These analgesics are made on the basis of articaine and do not contain adrenaline – a component which can cause miscarriage or premature birth.

Before making an injection, the dentist must apply a special anesthetic gel. Even slight pain for the would-be mother is severe stress, which can lead to adverse consequences.

Furthermore, it is not recommended to use x-ray during pregnancy. Radiation is dangerous for the future baby.

Dental procedures that should be postponed

There are several dental procedures extremely undesirable for expectant mothers.

Implantation. Bone tissue during pregnancy gets pretty loose – it is likely that the tooth will not take root. In addition, the procedure requires serious anesthesia, which is quite dangerous. Prosthetics. It is also wise to postpone this manipulation, which requires a large amount of drugs. You’d better try to retain what is left of the tooth for while. Tooth extraction. This procedure is performed only in extreme cases, after a mandatory gynecologist’s consultation.